feline mange?

Question

My stepson has a cat, and I have 2. My stepsons cat lives on the top floor of my house, and has had little interactions (maybe twice) with my other cats. He is kept sepperate. ONE of my cats goes outside, the other does not.
My stepsons cat is 9, and has begun to lose weight, and hair around his backside, belly, legs and neck. He is constantly scratching, and is bleeding in some spots. There are NO fleas. He is the only cat in the house with these symptoms and they started about a month ago. What would be the cause of this? We don't have a lot of $$$, so what non-veterinary cures are there?

Answer 1

TO me that sounds like fleas. Now if you are in the lower states of america then it could be mange. But I'd go the flea route first. Revolution is the best stuff. it also will kill round worm, ring worm, ear mites and flea and pretty much and parasite.

Your cat could alsio be stressed out. Have you changed his food or routine ?

Answer 2

We don't KNOW what the cause is - there are no vets on here, and no one can diagnose over the internet!!!

How can anyone possibly tell you a cure when there's no way of knowing the problem? All we can say is it probably IS fleas - you don't always see the live ones. You usually see flea dirts rather than the actual fleas, they look like this:
http://www.darwinvets.com/images/flea_faeces_hi_res.jpg

The fact that the cat is losing weight indicates there is a further problem here. Take the cat to a vet. You can at least get an idea of the problem, for the price of a consult fee, and find out from there what sort of price you looking at to discover the cause. The least you can do for your animals is get some proper flea treatment.

Chalice

Answer 3

I know it's expensive, but trust me, try a Frontline on the cat. If it's fleas, 4 months in a row of Frontline will kill everything in the house. You don't have to bathe the cat, bomb the house, or anything else, so in the long run you save money. The flea drops made by Hartz, Sargent's, and Adams are the same insecticide that is in flea collars-and they don't work. Neither do flea powders or collars. These products are a lot more toxic and dangerous to the cat as well.

Answer 4

I would look at him with a fine tooth comb. Mange is EXTREMELY rare in cats. The areas of hairloss you are describing are textbook for fleas!! (hairloss around the neck could be signs of ear infection or ear mites, look in his ears for any dark discharge at all - if so, there's an itchy infection there) Some cats can be allergic to flea bites (look up flea allergy dermatitis), and can become MUCH more itchy to only a couple of flea bites than another cat may be. I'd just about be willing to bet it's fleas, especially if they're not on any preventative. After all, we can bring fleas in on our clothing.